Sean Zak
Caddie Billy Foster embraces Luke Donald early in the week during the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Una Famiglia
This month may not be heavy with Ryder Cup news, with 10 months to go before the 2025 event, and very little golf being played that could impact the teams that will meet at Bethpage. But thanks to a documentary titled Una Famiglia, it feels like Ryder Cup time.
The reason rests in the film’s timeline, which leaps back and forth between the lead-up to the 2023 Cup, held in Rome, and the lead-up to next year’s Cup, held in New York. As we inch closer to the next one, we inch further away from the last one. Which makes right now the perfect time for a look behind the curtain at how these events play out. And particularly, why Europe dominated in Italy.
The final score read 16.5 to 11.5, but as you can see in the film, there were a number of strings that captain Luke Donald pulled to create a sense of team among individuals, caddies and families. Below are eight quotes from the movie — which you can view below — that explain how Europe came together in victorious fashion.
“It felt like we were together for three weeks.” — Jon Rahm
Much has been made in recent years about scouting trips these teams make ahead of time. Well, Europe took a trip to Marco Simone ahead of the Ryder Cup, which has been hailed as a deeply important team-bonding mission. It’s also for course-prep work.
The week following that scouting trip was the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where every European member competed, stayed in the same hotel, dined together, etc. Add in Ryder Cup week and that’s why Jon Rahm said it felt like they had most of a month together.
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“These are the best days of your life.” — Billy Foster
There are 12 players who are selected, who make the putts, who earn the glory, etc. But Luke Donald wanted everyone behind those 12 players to feel like they are just as important as the pros. So early in the week at Marco Simone, Donald gathered the 12 caddies together and presented long-time looper Billy Foster (Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddie) with a Ryder Cup trophy of his own.
Each player from a winning Ryder Cup team gets a trophy made for them to keep, but this one was specially made for a caddie who had looped in now 16 Cups. Foster was taken aback and grateful for the recognition, offering a few words to his fellow caddies about what was ahead for them: the best days of their life.
“How many times are you going to sit there crying with somebody that you play against every week, and be so absolutely OK with it?” — Tommy Fleetwood
On Monday night of Ryder Cup week, Donald schemed with the wives and girlfriends of the team to have each player in their hotel rooms at precisely 5 p.m. That’s when they’d receive a special video from one of their loved ones. For some, the message came from a brother, for others just a best friend. For Tommy Fleetwood, it was a message from his son, Frankie.
When the European team gathered soon after these messages were shared, they watched a mashup video of all the messages, and soon had many players in tears. Once Fleetwood started crying, Jon Rahm started crying. Both talked about how sharing vulnerability made them feel even closer as teammates.
“I feel like part of the family.” — Novak Djokovic
Yes, Novak Djokovic, the tennis great. Donald brought in Djokovic to speak with his team early in the week. The message, as Donald explained on the No Laying Up podcast, was one about succeeding when the crowd isn’t necessarily behind you. While it may have been better suited for an away Ryder Cup week, Djokovic’s presence was an uplifting one for the Euros, according to numerous players and caddies. These type of cameos happen during Ryder Cup week more than other major golf weeks, and they don’t always deliver positive results. But in the case of the ’23 Cup, we’ve got one celebrity inspirational speech and one European victory. Hard to knock it.
“We were greeted almost like rock stars.” — Ludvig Aberg
It wasn’t all Luke Donald planning that kicked off the Ryder Cup. There was plenty Diane Donald planning, too, including the team appearance at the famous Spanish Steps in central Rome. It is apparently quite rare to section off the steps for a private event, but Diane’s idea was embraced by the local government and created a warm welcome for the teams two nights before the event began.
Spectators were lined up in a half circle at the base of the steps in an arrival that mirrored a red carpet premiere. Or, as Ludvig Aberg said, the arrival of rock stars.
“Simati signore e signori, Benvenuto alla Ryder Cup.” — Luke Donald
Italy isn’t a massive golf country. That was part of a looming concern about bringing the event to the rural outskirts of Rome. Would spectators show up, en masse, and would they feel like an imposing home crowd for the Euros?
The answer was a definitive yes once Donald began his ceremonial address with multiple sentences of near-perfect Italian. The first words from his mouth, listed above, translate to “Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ryder Cup.” It’s a very simple idea, but one that took hundreds of days of Italian lessons on Duo Lingo for Donald to get comfortable addressing the world in a non-native language. And one that rallied the massive crowd that awaited the initial pairings and injected the event with energy.
“How de fohk did we win dat session.” — Shane Lowry
Delivered in his classic Irish accent, Shane-O was stunned to see the Euros win the first session 4-0. But he was extra jubilant Friday evening after they had stolen the second session, too. The final half hour of play saw Viktor Hovland make a long birdie putt to ensure a half point, Rahm bury a lengthy eagle putt to flip his match into a tie, and Justin Rose make a 10-footer just moments later to flip his match back into a tie. Europe 2.5 – Americans 1.5. If it felt like momentum had been created by the Americans, in about 30 minutes it was stolen away, leaving Lowry as giddy as he was flabbergasted.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of Ryder Cups and watched a lot of others too, and in my view, the performance of the team, as a collective in Italy was the best I’ve ever seen from a European team.” — Paul McGinley
It’s true. McGinley has been involved a lot of Cups. Three times as a player, once as a lead captain and other times as a vice captain or advisor. In his mind, during the 2023 Cup, Europe had no one “backing in” to the event. No one showed up out of form. And frankly, he figured the three best players in the world were all wearing blue — Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland — and they all showed out. That’s what the 2023 Cup came down to.
